


the battle's in your hands now (but i would lay my armor down)

by lunasasylum



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Assassins & Hitmen, Didn't Know They Were Dating, F/M, Falling In Love, Jughead's trying to catch her, Ronnie's a conwoman, Slow Burn, Veronica's a Thief, Veronica's an assassin, it takes them a while, jughead is Interpol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-26 16:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15005021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunasasylum/pseuds/lunasasylum
Summary: "Veronica, you have to know that eventually, I will catch you.""Jones, you have to know that eventually, I will stop running."// or Veronica Lodge is a contract killer and thief, and Jughead Jones is in charge of catching her.





	the battle's in your hands now (but i would lay my armor down)

"I've spent four years chasing you, Lodge." Jughead crossed his arms, watching as the brunette tapped her manicured fingernails against the champagne glass. "It's over."

"I've been running from you for four years, Jones." She drank from her glass. "Maybe I'm just tired of running. Maybe I'm tired of being the mouse to your cat."

Chuckling shook his head, "I don't think that's a good analogy for us. You're anything but mousy, and we know I'm not catlike."

"I suppose you're right. So, how do you sum us up? After four years of hiding and almost finding me, running away, following me." Veronica scoffed. "Four years of our lives. This is probably the longest relationship I've ever had." 

Leaning forward, Jughead nods. "This is the only relationship I've ever really had. You have been my sole focus for over four years. It doesn't leave a lot of room for significant others. I've dedicated all of my time, personal and professional, and energy into finding you.

Veronica raises her hand to the diamond necklace sitting around her neck. "You were close. You were so close so many times, I was almost nervous." Taking a sip of her champagne she smiled at him. "Only _almost_. So, we're here now. Face to face, after years of secrets, near hits and misses, we're finally here."

"So, what's the plan Jones? Is Interpol sitting outside the door? Or waiting for me back at my apartment? Will they pop out of the bathroom? If I try to run, will they come out of the drains and tackle me? Is it the woman over there in the slipdress? The waiter with the empty tray?" Looking back at him, she almost frowned. "Or, is it you?"

For some reason, Veronica's tone softened. "Are the handcuffs in your pocket, ready to lock around my wrist the second that you get bored of this conversation? Are they even handcuffs? Or is it a cable tie? At the very least, I deserve to know what my intake plan is."

Jughead bit his bottom lip, watching the diamond bracelet slide down her wrist. "That bracelet is the reason I started chasing you."

Glancing down, Veronica smirks. "How fitting, the very reason this began is in nearly inconsequential in the end." Examining the bracelet on her wrist, she chuckles. "It looks better on me than it ever would on her."

"I suppose it does." Finishing his drink, Jughead stands up and stretches out his hand. "Dance with me."

Shaking her head, Veronica declines. "I don't dance."

"They're playing our song." He states, looking pointedly at her.

Listening closer, she realizes that he's right. It is, indeed the opening cords to their song. Tapping her glass with the ring on her finger, Veronica takes his hand and smiles. "Yes, they are."

Leading her to the dance floor, Jughead sets a hand on the small of her back.

As Veronica curls a hand around his neck, he takes her other hand in his, pulling it to his chest. They're standing closer than they've ever been, the dance looks so intimate, people on the floor create a space for them to spin.

Her breath is warm on his cheek, and he can feel her relax in his arms. The lyrics of the song fills his ears, but she tightens her grip on him, so they keep dancing even after it's over.

"What are we doing, Jones?"

He knows she doesn't mean the dancing, and he honestly doesn't have an answer to her question. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"Why didn't _you_ kill _me_? Don't you have orders to shoot on sight? They told you that I'm armed and dangerous." There it goes again, her tone shifts into something harder and colder. "I'm a ruthless contract thief and killer, I'm soulless conwoman, I'm empty inside."

"Veronica, that's not what I asked." His voice deepened and Veronica shivered in his arms. "Why didn't you kill me? That night in Milan, you had the jump on me. You could've killed me, why didn't you just do it and get it over with?"

Sighing, she pulled her head up from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. They stared back into her, and she couldn't look away. He kept looking, waiting for an answer, waiting for her to say something. 

She wanted to lie, but she couldn't even form a good one.

So, she settled on the truth.

"I wanted to." Veronica whispers. "I wanted to kill you, and then I didn't. The gun was strapped to my inner thigh, and I was going to kill you, but I really didn't want to. I could've, I probably should've, but I didn't. I just didn't _want_ to."

Jughead spins her and pulls her back into her chest. 

They dance in silence, trying to hold on to the moment.

Finally, Jughead speaks. "They did tell me that you were cold. Interpol laid out all your suspected crimes to a room full of agents, and told us that if we had the shot, we should take it. They called you a psychopath. Diagnosed." She flinches when she hears the word, and he catches her eye.

"But, I didn't listen. My gun was on my hip, and I should've killed you too. I just couldn't for some reason."

Veronica runs her fingers through his hair. "They weren't lying Jughead." Her voice catches, but she keeps going. "I did kill all those people, I killed those agents Barcelona, I killed that couple in Madrid. I've killed a lot of people, I've stolen so many things. I'm a psychopath."

"No, you're not. A kleptomaniac probably." Jughead answers simply. "Maybe you like to say you are, but you're not. It makes it easier to avoid your feelings if you convince yourself that you don't have any. Things hurt you Veronica, and things you make you happy. And, I don't mean killing and stealing. You're not a psychopath, you're just scared."

She doesn't respond, instead her fingernails scrape lightly against the back of his neck. Her eyes don't leave his, and her hands never leave his grasp.

"Interpol isn't waiting, nobody's waiting. I don't have handcuffs or cable ties, there is no intake plan. My phone is at the office and so is my earpiece. Nobody knows I'm here, and nobody knows you're here. If you want to leave, run, hide, and never look back...now's the time to do it. You could leave."

Waiting, she bites her bottom lip. Her eyes shine as she speaks. "Or...?"

"Or..."


End file.
